


Project T.H.U.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.

by inubz101 (orphan_account)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Daredevil (TV), Deadpool (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Thunderbolts (Comics)
Genre: Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-07-22 19:10:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7450729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/inubz101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the fallout of the Avengers, Inhumans popping up, and a rising crime rate, Director Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is spread thin on what to do. Luckily Fury just might have a solution. A new team. One that doesn't play by the rules but can get the job done. If they fail, they could be thrown back into whatever Hell they came from. But if they succeed, they might be Earth’s biggest defense against its most common enemy: itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is set Post Civil War, and Season 3 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's also Post season 2 of Daredevil, but The Punisher for the most part is freeform.

**ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA**

**0900 HOURS**

90 degrees. 90 whole fucking degrees fahrenheit. At least it was dry heat though, that they could manage. There was a slight breeze the blew by, making it slightly easier to stand in the old alleyway. However the dead body slowly rotting from the heat, was making the smell unbearable. Plus the fact that there even  _ was  _ a dead body. But it was part of the job. Which entitled hovering over a dead Inhuman with a whole bunch of other ACTU knuckle heads gathering evidence.

“Uh, Agent May?” A voice stuttered.

Melinda May turned her attention from the corpse to the S.H.I.E.L.D agent behind her.

“So I know I don’t need me to uh, examine a body or anything but-”

“You're here in case whoever killed this woman comes back.” May cut him off.

“Right. Got it.” Joey walked back towards the curb to kept a watchful eye.

May rolled her eyes. While she didn’t mind Joey, he was a great guy, she didn’t feel like babysitting the Inhuman and bringing him along on missions. It was also the fact that she couldn’t really communicate well with him. That was Daisy’s job, but Daisy wasn’t here. May pushed away that thought for later, and focused back on the body. The woman was in her mid 20’s, hispanic, with her throat slit open. She had bruises and cuts on her fists, which meant she put up a good fight against her killer.

One of the ACTU agents walked up to May with a tablet in his hand, “Victim is Maria Hernandez, 25. Inhuman. Based on her file, she had the ability to turn objects to gold. Hence the gold covered trash can over there. Time of death seems to be in between 9 through 11.”

“Any way to tell if she got her killer?”

“The gold flakes under her fingernails might suggest skin she got from her attacker.” The agent pointed to the victim’s chipped nails. “Lucky she left some evidence huh?”

“Lucky we even found her in the first place.” May huffed.

This was the 16th dead Inhuman case in the past 3 months. However you couldn’t tell it considering this was the first body they’ve been able to find right after the murder. Most bodies disappeared from the crime scene, and turn up a few days later in a dump or in a river. This was the only person they’d been able to find at the scene of the murder.

“Alright. Bag her and take her to the van. Our people will do the autopsy; see if there is anything else we might’ve overlooked.”

“Yes ma’am.” the agent turned on his heels and went to address his cohorts.

May looked at her watch and sighed. Only 9:15, and she knew that it was gonna be a long day.

 

**THE PLAYGROUND**

**2145 HOURS**

Director Phil Coulson was having a bad case of the Mondays. Actually, he was just having a bad day in general. General Talbot had gotten on his case this morning about not reporting enhanced individuals (mainly Inhumans), and the one shot in weeks he had of bringing in one of his agents failed. So yeah, pretty bad day. Coulson wrung his left wrist. It tended to get tingly when when he was in a bad mood.

“Coulson.” May had walked in with a body bag following behind her. “Got another one.”

“River or garbage can this time?”

“Neither. We found at the crime scene.” Coulson raised an eyebrow.

“Killer must’ve ran off before taking the body with them.”

“We’ll count that as progress. Get her to Simmons, see if she can find another connection to the rest of them.” 

“Yes sir. Any word on Daisy?”

Coulson sighed. “Mack and Helena got a glimpse of her before she disappeared. They think they might have lead to where she’s going next but...” It was likely that they wouldn’t catch her. May trained her well, and if she didn’t wanna be found, she wasn’t going to be.

“We’ve got other things to worry about at the moment.”

“You mean like Talbot?” May scoffed.

“I mean like the US government. Technically Talbot works for us.”

“But he’s still giving you grief about it.”

“They’re coming down hard on him. Which means he’s taking it out on us. I understand.” Even if it did give him a massive migraine. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

May nodded. Coulson took a stroll around the base, before heading back to his office. He needed to clear his head a little before heading back to paperwork and misery. Things should’ve been easier after the fall of Hive and HYDA. But instead, it got harder to do the job. The Accords was the new law of the land, and while S.H.I.E.L.D was still dead to the world, it put pressure on them to conform to the new rules. Pressure that made it difficult to protect the world. It also tore apart the only thing that could defend the planet from harm. The Avengers were torn in half, one of them being the Director’s childhood hero. So no, Coulson wasn’t particularly fond of the Accords. But if he wanted to keep this organization a secret and stay on the good side with the President, he’d have to suck it up, and live with it. Coulson entered his office and immediately knew something was off. He wasn’t as perceptive as say Natasha, but he could sense when there was a change in there. He shrugged it off and went for the scotch in his cabinet behind his desk. He pulled out two glasses as well.

“Do what do I owe the pleasure?” Coulson said while pouring.

A shadow moved from his peripheral vision, and crept behind him. “Figured we’d need to talk.”

Coulson turned and handed the glass to his former boss. “You firing me?”

Nick Fury smirked. “With what authority or reason?”

“For being a lousy leader.” The Director took the other glass and leaned back on his desk.

“You know damn well I wouldn’t put you in charge if you weren’t the best.”

“Can’t say that I am. I wanna say that we’re doing the right thing but... we’re spread thin. The Inhuman body count is piling up again, and we’ve got the UN practically at our doorstep. I’d usually say that at least we have the Avengers to look after thing, but we don’t even have that anymore.” Coulson exasperated. 

Fury nodded slowly. “You need something to give, make things a little easier.”

Coulson sat back up. It was now that he realized that Nick had his hand behind his back the entire time.

“You have a solution?”

“I have something that’ll even the odds a bit.” Fury handed Coulson a thick manilla folder.

Coulson looked at the bold black lettering on the front, and immediately said, “I don’t think so.”

“Figured you might say that.”

“We’ve tried this project before, several times actually, and it failed. We can’t risk that kind damage this time.”

“It’s different this time.”

“It was different every time. Except last time, we almost lost and agent.” Coulson sighed. He knew Fury had come up with some crazy ideas in the past, but this one was toxic.

“I wouldn’t be giving you this unless I wasn’t 90% sure and we didn’t have any other option. There might’ve been issues with the others, hell if I know who decided to pick em, but I’ve gotta feeling about this one Phil. Call it gut instincts, but you might be the one that whips them into shape.”

“You have a lot of faith in a dead man.” Coulson gave him a wry smile.

“I got a lotta faith in the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. And if anyone’s the dead man in here, it’s me.”

“Good point. So if I were to take this into consideration, should I expect any surprises?”

Fury gave him a hard look. “Gonna admit: you’re probably not gonna like what you see.”

Curiosity got to Coulson, as he opened the folder. The first two had crossed S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar before, the third one did surprise him a bit. But it was the fourth one that made him tense up. He could feel the scar on his chest start to flare up. Everything in him wanted to throw the folder into the furnace downstairs and never see it again.

“Thought he was dead?”

Fury didn’t ask him to clarify, “He managed to live and go into hiding. Til he got caught. They gave us the option this time. However I think they just wanna see us torture him. Hurt by the people that he hurt.”

“That’s not what we do.”

“I know. It’s either that or something worse on Asgard.” Fury gave Coulson a knowing look.

While Coulson hated the man’s guts, he believed in second chances. Nick knew this. Plus, it gave him the opportunity to make his life miserable. Without hurting him of course. His eyes then scanned to agent Fury recommended to watch over them.

“Agent Thompson?” Coulson questioned.

“She’s deemed ‘exceptional’ for her age. Worked at the Tank for a few years, knows how to handle a few punks and ain’t afraid to throw a punch either.” Fury explained. The Tank was where S.H.I.E.L.D kept some of it’s more dangerous criminals.

“Plus, you need someone young. They have a lot of attitude which could be useful.”

“One question: how are you getting them here?” One of them was on the run, and the other was on another planet.

“With a little imagination.” Fury placed the glass on the desk. “I’ll let you know when I’m shipping em your way.”

“What makes you think I’m saying yes?” 

“Cause you asked.” Fury gave him a small smile before slipping back towards the secret elevator.

Now alone in his office, Coulson really started thinking about what his next step would be. Of course he said yes. Even if he didn’t know it, he agreed to this plan. It was the curiosity that did him in. He wanted to see if this was the team that could actually do some good. There would be some rules in place, probably needed somewhere to stay that  _ wasn’t  _ the base. Everything was starting to fit together. The Director skimmed his hand over the cover again.

**PROJECT T.H.U.N.D.E.B.O.L.T  EST. 1967**

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The introduction to Agent Thompson

**THE TANK**

**1000 HOURS**

Agent Tasha Thompson strolled through the Tank with pride. Although she tried not to show it. There was however a smug grin creeping up on her face as she walked the new prisoner to his cell. Alec Warner was an arms dealer for Cybertek; one that had managed to escape S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar for a couple of years. Every other team that went out to capture him took at least months to try to draw him out. Thompson’s team drew him out and captured him in less than a week. So if there was a little pep to the agent’s step, then so be it.

“You really think you can contain me?” Warner hissed. The man’s Scottish accent was thicker when he was angry. “I was able to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D for years, what makes you think I can be held?”

Thompson smirked, “You’ll be too busy trying to stay alive to even consider escaping.”

They had reached a row of holding cells at the end of the hall. The prisoners were incredibly rowdy when they passed, which is exactly what the young agent wanted. 

“Yo, Agent Thompson!” One of the prisoners called.

“Sup Jerry!”

“That fresh meat I see?” Jerry looked Warner up and down.

“Mmhmm.” Thompson looked back at Warner. “Jerry Tyson. Been in here for 15 years after burning the flesh outta some S.H.I.E.L.D agents not too long ago. His power’s have been contained but...”

Jerry’s eyes flashed a bright orange before going back to their original brown.

“You never really know.” Tasha continued shoving the man down the hall.

They had passed by several other prisoners; each time Warner’s tough facade started to weaken. And Agent Thompson was loving every minute of it. They had finally reached the end of the hall, where the doors of the cells were covered wall to wall with titanium. The only way to see through was from the camera inside.

“Here we are. And looks like you got a great roommate too.” Tasha peered at the screen that showed the large and lean prisoner, pacing back and forth.

Warner’s eyes widened a bit, and as guards were inputting the code, the Scottish man took the time to elbow one in the stomach, and started to run toward the end of the hall. The agent rolled her eyes, and strutted down the hall for the prisoner. She pulled out the icer from her holster, and didn’t even blink when she took the shot at Warner. He immediately fell to the ground in pain, holding his leg in pain.

Agent Thompson squatted down next to him, “Where did you think you were going dude? I mean really?”

“Agh! You fucking bitch.” Warner spat.

“Yeah, yeah. Come and get him!” Thompson waved over the guards.

Tasha stood up and watched as the guards manhandled Alec Warner back to his cell. She hadn’t had a runner since her first week working at the Tank. It was a little refreshing to be honest.

“All good here Agent Thompson?” Tasha looked up at the voice.

“Just a little scuffle. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Tasha shrugged at her superior.

“I’m sure.” Agent Lonzo smirked. “Let’s get going.”

Thompson strolled along side the agent as she waved goodbye to the prisoners. It was a weird sort of comradery they had; her and them. During her days here, they’ve managed to build a mutual respect for each other. Tasha had learned a lot from them, from how they could probably escape, to how to kill someone using just you're pinky finger. Not all of them were bad perse, but most of them wouldn’t be out of here in her lifetime. Still, it was nice to see some of them. See that they haven’t changed or have changed tremendously.

“Having fun?” Agent Lonzo watched Tasha stick her tongue out at one of the prisoners.

“Just reminiscing is all.” The two had reached the elevator that would take them back up.

“You’re too young to reminiscing anything.”

“And  _ you’re  _ too old to be going out clubbing.” Thompson shot back.

Lonzo let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah well I still got plenty a compliments last night about my looks. You know what they say,”

“Black don’t crack I know. But one of these days you’re gonna crack you're spine from tryna to keep up with us young people.”

“Yeah, or break it trying to take down a Romanian Mob.” There last mission had been a rough one, landing Thompson’s superior in the hospital for a week.

“You’re alright.” Thompson started stretching her arms. “Meanwhile, I need a bath and some twinkies to debrief from this mission. Hope we still got some snacks back at the hub.”

Lonzo’s eyes flickered for a moment, but it was gone before the young agent could notice.

 

**THE PLAYGROUND**

**1425 HOURS**

Once the quinjet had landed, Tasha was already out of her seat and ready to get off. It wasn’t that she didn’t like flying, but she was ready to just fall on whatever soft surface she could find. The door of the jet opened, and the agent had stopped her fast pursuit off the plane.

“That’s weird. Don’t remember us redecorating around here.” Thompson said dryly.

“It’s cause we didn’t.” Agent Lonzo walked off the jet like it was nothing.

Tasha sighed and followed him. “Why didn’t you tell me we were stopping by HQ?”

“Figured I’d surprise you. Always like to keep you on you're toes.”

“Yeah well I’m pretty much ready for anything nowadays.” Thompson had only shrugged when she found out about the small population of earth turning into Inhumans. Barely batted an eyelash when HYDRA brought back Hive through a portal. Freaky alien stuff was kinda a new normal for her now.

“So I can understand why you’d be here, probably stocking up weapons, but why am I here?” the young agent asked.

“You have a meeting with the director.” Tasha froze.

She had only seen Director Coulson twice. Once when the Triskelion fell and everything went to shit, and the second when they were searching for Hive’s base of operations. She’s never actually talked to the director, so why he wanted to have a meeting, baffled her.

“Am I getting laid off or something?”

“No. It’s nothing bad. Just think of it as a... promotion of sorts.” Lonzo was careful with his words.

Tasha crossed her arms, “Doesn’t sound like one to me.”

“You’ll be fine. I gotta go restock. Good luck Agent Thompson.” Lonzo saluted her.

“I swear if I get fired, I’m coming for you!” Tasha yelled. Lonzo simply waved.

She huffed. Not only did he spring this up on her at the last minute, but he didn’t even tell her what time she was suppose to meet with him. Not wanting to get into trouble, Agent Thompson rushed inside the base to find the director’s office. She was almost there, when she ran into what felt like a wall.

“Shit, I’m so sor-Mack?” Tasha took a step back to see that it was Agent Mackenzie that she had bumped into.

“Hey Tasha.” Mack greeted. “Better slow down, you might run into a wall at that speed.”

“Well it felt like I just did. Jeez man, what do they have you lifting?” She poked at his chest.

Tasha had worked with Mack a few times on missions. The two had become good friend after a while, but rarely saw each other.

“Heavy artillery if you can believe it. So what are you doing here?”

“I uh have a meeting with Director Coulson.”

“About what?”

“I actually don’t know. My boss just sprung it on me when we landed. You have any ideas?”

Mack frowned, “No, but he has been kind off for a couple of days. He gets like that when he’s up to something. My guess is he’s planning something big. And it sounds like you’re apart of it.”

“Well that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.” Tasha said flatly.

“Hey, if anything it’s probably just a move to keep you here at the base. He needs more agents close by if anything else.” Mack tried to reassure her.

“Well if that’s the case, then I’ll be seeing ya around more often.” Tasha checked her watch. It had been almost 10 minutes since she landed, and something told her that Coulson did not like to be kept waiting.

“I gotta go. Talk later?” 

“Sure thing.”

Agent Thompson trekked upstairs and stood outside Coulson’s office. She knocked and waited until she heard a soft ‘enter’ before going in.

Coulson had just hung up the phone with Fury before letting Agent Thompson in. Coulson almost did a double take on the Agent. He knew how young she was, but up close and personal, she looked to be barely 18.

“Director Coulson.” She greeted.

“Agent Thompson. Have seat.” Coulson could tell she was a bit tense, but she was trying very hard not to show it.

“I’m sure you’re curious on why I brought you here.” He sat down behind his desk. 

“Agent Lonzo didn’t really give me any insight on what this meeting was about.” Tasha conceded.

“That’s because I didn’t give him a lot of information. Wanted to keep this between you and me.” 

Tasha nodded. However she couldn’t understand what was so important that he refused to tell her boss.

“Read you're file. One of the few youngest S.H.I.E.L.D agents in history. Right next to Black Widow. Started training at 13, but didn’t officially join until you were 16.”

“Gotta start ‘em out young these days.” Tasha quipped.

“Mm. Rough childhood.”

Tasha shrugged, “Rough’s not the word I’d use but yeah.”

Usually rough childhood was code for: bad, horrible things that should never be discussed. And that was the end of that discussion on many occasions.

“You were trained by some of the best. Recruited by Nick Fury himself, and worked in one of S.H.I.E.L.D’s toughest prisons to date.” Coulson went on.

“That’s what it says on the file.”

“Yeah but there’s more to you than what’s put on paper. You bend, sometimes even break the rules when it’s necessary, push hard to get what you need, and you're not afraid to tell someone off when you want to. You’re willing to do what it takes to get the job done, but also still stick to a moral code.”

Coulson had gone over her file a few times, and even asked some of her co workers about what she’s like. Once the information started coming back to him, he knew immediately why Nick wanted her assigned to the project. She was a perfect fit compared to the last few unsuccessful times. She wouldn’t be afraid of them and let them run loose, but she wasn’t harsh and controlling that the team would want to call a quits. Agent Thompson just might be the key to The Thunderbolt Project.

“All in all you’re an exceptional Agent Ms. Thompson.”

“Thank you Director. However, I know I wasn’t asked here today just to talk about my experience as an agent.” Tasha was thinking that Lonzo might’ve been right on the whole promotion, but there was still something the Director was holding back.

“No you were not.” Coulson took out the folder Fury had given him, and slid it over to Agent Thompson.

Tasha stared at the folder for minute. Then blinked to see if she was just imagining it. Anyone who had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D knew what Project Thunderbolt was about. Hell, even the janitorial staff knew. It was a failure, a team that was never suppose to be assembled again after what happened last time. Tasha looked up at the Director, who simply had a blank stare on his face. Tasha opened the folder and scanned through the information.

She only got to the fourth page before she closed it and said, “Permission to speak freely sir?”

Coulson pretty much knew what she was going to say, “Go ahead.”

“This idea is terrible. And by terrible, I mean complete and utter horseshit.” Tasha stated.

“It kinda is.” Coulson confessed.

“One of these guys tried to kill you. Sorry,  _ did  _ kill you.”

“I know.”

“Than why are you showing this to me? Why is this even being considered?”

“Because we took a major hit. With Hive, with HYDRA. We lost a good agent, and now one of my best agents is gone because of it. The Avengers are scattered and because of the Accords, we’re limited on what we can do, and that could lead to more issues in the future.”

“So you want to use something that can work outside of S.H.I.E.L.D, and not be traced back to it as well.” Coulson nodded.

“We’re dealing with a lot of cases right now, and still rebuilding. We’re not ready for another attack.”

Tasha sighed. “But we can be. With this.”

The young agent felt a migraine coming on. There was so many things wrong with this plan. One being, that one of them tried to take over earth and the other (well two of them), are wanted fugitives. They were also completely different. Putting them in a group setting could lead to a) them trying to kill one another, or b) teaming up to kill innocent people. It was a recipe for disaster. But then Tasha looked back at her time at the Tank.The times where she could see a sliver of good in some of the worst people. To know that not everyone started out evil, and not everyone wanted to kill. When HYDRA was uncovered within S.H.I.E.L.D, there was an attack at the Tank. It would’ve been a straight bloodbath, if Tasha had not convinced the prisoners to work together to protect themselves. Granted, some of them escaped (they were back within a week), but it managed to work, and saved a lot of lives that day. This was why Tasha was called in. She knew that now. And now the director needed to know if she was in.

“What’s the plan on this?” She asked.

Coulson was taken back on her question, but continued. “We have a new situation with Inhuman deaths. We know it’s not Lash because he’s dead, so someone else is killing them. And this time it’s not for sport. The team would be tasked with figuring out the new threat, and eventually eliminating them. However you won’t be done once the mission’s complete. I want you working together for at least 6 months. If it goes well we go up to a year to check on progress. If you can manage to keep them together for that long then-”

“You got yourself a new team.” Tasha finished. “Anything else?”

“You’re allowed to bring another agent in of your choosing.” Tasha perked up. Now that could was a benefit that she could get behind. And she knew just who to get.

“When will they be here?”

“Tomorrow. I’m tasking you with recruitment.”

Coulson saw the agent’s face turn into confusion. “Recruitment?”

“We’ve decided not to force them into this. We’ll give them the option of joining. However I’m really hoping that the answer won’t be no. Otherwise I prepped a new compound for nothing.”

Tasha a let out a long breath. She had to convince them to join as well as work with them. There was a lot of research she needed to do before she saw them. And if there was one thing Tasha hated more than anything else, was going into something completely blind.

“Okay. I’m in.”


	3. Chapter 3

**ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA**

**1934 HOURS**

“So let me get this straight,” Lucas Fuentes said after hearing their friend explain her new role. “You want _me_ to join you and a team of highly dangerous criminals to take down an even more dangerous criminal?”

“We don’t know who we’re dealing with yet, but yeah pretty much.” Tasha corrected them.

As soon as Tasha left The Playground, she went to find the one person she knew she could bring in. Lucas wasn’t technically an agent, but since S.H.I.E.L.D brought them in so many times for ‘tech support’ (very few people can break into Turkey’s military systems and steal a jet okay?), the organization at least had to give them a lanyard.

Lucas shook their head and shoved a french fry in their mouth, “Ok.”

“Wait really?”

“Dude, I get free housing and access to weapons. _And_ I can ask The Winter Soldier about his arm.”

“Considering he was brainwashed and had the arm forcefully attached to him, I don’t think he’ll be up for a Q & A session.”

Lucas winced, “Good point. So what is there to discuss? Cause I know you didn’t invite me out to dinner in a secluded booth, to seduce me _novio_.” Lucas purred.

Tasha rolled her brown eyes and threw a fry at her friend. “No I didn’t. Director Coulson is supposedly bringing them in tomorrow for recruitment, and you know I don’t like going into anything blind.”

“You do have a distinct hatred for that.”

“So I need to go over each of them individually, so when I try to recruit them, I can appeal to their wants and needs.”

“You mean try to get under their skin?”

“Ugh, you know me so well.” Tasha put a hand over her heart.

“Then let’s get down to it shall we?” Lucas clapped their hands together.

Tasha pulled out the folder Coulson handed her, along with a few notes of her own that she wrote, and placed them on the table. She had a chance to do a quick look over on each of the potential members, and jot down a few things. Most of them were questions that she had, but others were warnings to keep in mind.

“After hours of research, and getting my hands on, ahem, illegal information, I was able to get a pretty accurate status report on each of new recruits.” Tasha pulled the first file out of the stack. “First one up is Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. Age 36. Mercenary and Mutant. S.H.I.E.L.D rates him an 9 out of 10 as a threat.”

“Mutant? Is that what we’re calling Inhumans now?”

“It’s not. Mutants and Inhumans are different.” Lucas raised an eyebrow.

“Mutants are humans who have this genetic trait called the ‘X-gene’ that allows them to develop super powers or abilities naturally. There was this whole thing about it in the 70’s, but S.H.I.E.L.D and the World Security Council did a fantastic job of covering that up. They still exist though, just in hiding and mushed into the same group as Inhumans and other enhanced people.” Tasha explained.

“Ah. So I take it Wade isn’t necessarily a natural one?”

“No, he was part of this program to create mutants and made to serve whatever jackass they handed them over to. Except it backfired, cause the place burned down, and pretty much killed most of the patients.”

“So how did Wade survive?” Lucas asked.

“Read about his power.” Tasha pointed to the lower section of the paper.

Lucas’ eyes widened, “He’s immortal?!”

“Yup. However the downside of it, is that his body’s kinda... scarred.” Tasha didn’t wanna say damaged; that’d be harsh.

“Oh. Oh man. I’d see why most of his kills are pretty violent.” Lucas frowned at some of the photos of Wade.

“Well they were before, now there’s just more blood. Based on my lovely sources though, he’s currently living in New York in between jobs.”

“Interesting. Who’s next?”

“Frank Castle aka The Punisher. Age 33. Threat level is an 8. Used to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps doing some low profile missions. Awarded the _Navy Cross_ for his service in Afghanistan.”

“You can skip the intro, I know who he is.”

“Nope. Gotta go through the whole spiel.” Tasha continued, “Came home from Iraq to spend time with his family, only to have them be killed by a gang fight. After that, he basically hunted down and slaughtered every gang member working in Hell’s Kitchen. He was put in jail, escaped from prison, and no one’s seen him since.”

“Except S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Yup. A few agents spotted him in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago.” However the agents that ‘spotted’ Castle, wouldn’t dare to go within a 30 feet radius of him.

“Moving on...” Lucas grinned.

“You are way too excited for me to talk about Bucky Barnes.” Tasha said flatly.

“He’s just so fucking cool y’know?!”

The agent frowned,“The man _literally_ assassinated an Egyptian Diplomat in broad daylight, which almost brought on World War III. Not cool.”

“Alright, alright I digress.”

“So as I was saying, James Buchanan Barnes aka the Winter Soldier. Age 100, though biologically he’s 29. Threat level 7. Currently wanted by the United Nations.”

“Didn’t him and a few other Avengers decide to skip town? If that’s the case, then asking Barnes is useless. Just ask the others to come along.”

“Yes, and reveal to them that the guy that they thought was dead is actually alive, and running an organization that was, wait for it, also dead.” Tasha said dryly. “Besides, the team we’re putting together isn’t exactly the ‘goody two shoes’ type. Steve Rogers may not be Captain America right now, but he still wouldn’t approve of what we’re doing.”

“Point taken. So where is he?”

“Wakanda.”

“Wait, isn’t that-”

“Uh huh.”

“And you know about this how? Wakanda is so isolated from the world, it ain’t even on the map.”

“We might have a few people with us working inside. And by a few, I mean one.” Lucas was amazed and also slightly jealous that someone was able to enter the secluded country without the King’s knowledge.

“So what’s his current status now?”

“Cryo freeze and armless.”

“He lost the metal arm?!” Fuentes gasped.

“Yup. Apparently Stark blew it off.”

“But why? It was such a beautiful piece of tech.” They pouted.

Tasha shrugged, “Well when you find out that you're best friend’s best friend killed you're parents, you tend to not care.”

“Wait what? Barnes... killed Howard and Maria Stark? But it was written off as a car-” Tasha gave Lucas a pointed look. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Another reason why there’s a rift in the Avengers.” Tasha wasn’t suggesting that it was Bucky’s fault, she read the records, but she understood why Stark went after him.

“Damn. That’s... that’s deep.” Lucas leaned back in the booth.

“Mmhm.”

“Okay so we got Bucky, Frank, and Wade down. You told me there was 4, but you only gave me these 3 over the phone.”

Tasha picked at the bowl of fries, not looking at Lucas’ face. Lucas, perceptive as ever, narrowed their eyes at their friend.

“Thompson... what are you hiding?”

Tasha didn’t say anything; only sliding a file toward them. She did a mental countdown, before looking up, and saw Lucas’ face. They were quiet, but didn’t look surprised or angry even.

“So...Interplanetary Psychopath huh?” They finally said.

“Yeah.”

“Well, we are putting project Thunderbolt into play here. Wouldn’t be a team of criminals if you didn’t have him on there.” Tasha blew out an air of relief. Granted she knew Lucas didn’t shy away from dangerous situations (one of the reasons the two are such good friends), but there was a line people weren’t willing to cross when it came to the God.

“Right. Loki Laufeyson. Age estimated over a thousand years. Threat level 12 out of 10. He was supposedly dead after a battle of species known as the Dark Elves, but actually went into hiding.”

“Where?”

“Asgard. Or more specifically, disguised himself as Odin. Until he got caught.”

Lucas laughed, “Of course he did. So that’s it?”

“That’s all of them. And I have to figure out a way to convince them to be on our side by tomorrow.” Tasha ran her hands through her short black hair. Today had been slightly stressful, and tomorrow might send her over the edge.

“I just don’t know if I can do this.” The young agent admitted.

“Hey! No! None of that.” Lucas pointed a fry at her. “That ain’t the Tasha Thompson I know. The Tasha I know, ran The Tank like a military, saved hundreds of people in a small village in africa from raid, and single handedly fight 30 HYDRA agents. And won. The Tasha I know ain’t afraid of a challenge and is a _jefe perra culo._ ”

“You done singing my praises Fuentes?”

“I could go all night Thompson. My point is, this shouldn’t be hard for you.”

“I know, but this isn’t the Tank. I don’t see these guys from 9 to 5, and then clock out. We’re with them for at least 6 months, and their a totally different breed of dangerous.”

“T, what was the one thing you would always say when someone had some shit about people in the Tank. No, not even in the Tank, but in prison in general. What did you always hit em up with?”

Tasha sighed, “No one is ever born a villain, or a criminal. And that every ‘bad guy’ has a story behind them.”

“And?”

“And in the end, no matter how mean or cruel they may be, you always start off by being a decent person.”

“Exactly. You live by that code dammit. You preach that shit on the daily. In this case, it’s no different. You might not be slummin it in the Tank, but you can still keep that mentality with you. Plus, I’ll be right there with you, making sure they stay in line.”

“Great. Now I gotta watch over 5 children now.” She teased.

Lucas just flipped her off. “That’s the Tasha I know. Now are you ready to assemble the team?”

Tasha grabbed all the files in front of her, and put the profile pictures on one column. 6 months. 6 months with 4 of the most scariest and dangerous people on earth.

“Alright boys. Let’s see if you can be the heroes we need.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! (Not like anyone cared) I was suppose to update this regularly on Fridays, but due to registering for classes for my fall semester, I kinda fell of track. But here it is nonetheless. I also forgot to mention that while most of this is from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there will be elements of the 616 comic universe as well.

**BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA**

**0300 HOURS**

There were very few countries in the world that chose to isolate themselves. However, there were only two countries in the world that even S.H.I.E.L.D couldn’t touch. One was Latveria, and the other was Wakanda. Wakanda was known to be a beautiful country that held lavish forests, and many rivers. It also was home to the strongest metal known to earth: vibranium. Many people had itched to get there hands on it, but very few have managed to make it out with the metal. Or alive for that matter. Because of this, Wakanda has remained virtually untouchable to the world. And unless you knew the ins and outs of it, you would easily get lost. Yes, Wakanda has managed to be elusive for many years. Which is why Dr. Ziani was slightly afraid of what she was about to do. It was in the early hours of the morning, where most people were still asleep. The medical bay was empty, save for the Doctor, and her patient. Dr. Ziani had kept a close eye on Mr. Barnes since his arrival; monitoring his brain activity, watching for any irregularities or changes. T’Challa spoke highly of her. Which was another reason why this plan was all too dangerous. She could lose the king’s trust. Ziani had gotten a message a week ago to make contact again. It was then yesterday, that she had received an order on what to do. Because while Ziani was a talented Doctor of Wakanda, she was also a highly skilled S.H.I.E.L.D agent. She didn’t start out as one, King T’Chaka had sent her inside, to gather information. But she eventually found S.H.I.E.L.D to be her second home. A home that had been corrupted, and destroyed. Or so she thought. When Nicholas Fury had contacted her recently, she had found out that S.H.I.E.L.D still lived. And with a new director as well. Ziani was hesitant to put her faith into the newly reformed agency, but she trusted Nick. However when he asked her to take James Barnes out of Wakanda and bring him to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters...she was starting to question her faith in him. Nevertheless, she was doing what he asked. 

“Alright Mr. Barnes.” Ziani stood next to the cryochamber, “Let’s see how you are doing.”

The Doctor looked at his recent charts and saw that it was the same pattern that it had been for weeks. His brain activity was slow, but processing information at the same time. The cryofreeze chamber that they had was different from the ones HYDRA had used. They didn’t rob him of his memories, or force him, he had asked to be put under by his own accord. While it wasn’t the best solution to his long term problem, it gave him some time to go through some of his memories and even put together the pieces of his life. There were spikes in his brainwaves that suggested nightmares, but they usually lasted for all of an hour. All in all, James Barnes seemed to be in the same state as usual. That eased yet worried the Doctor. She cared for the health of her patient, but she needed him alert for what was about to happen. Once she finished going over Barnes, Ziani sat in the chair Mr. Rogers would occupy every day he came down here. Then she waited. It was only 45 minutes after she sat down, that she heard footsteps outside the door. There was also shuffling above the ceiling. It was only a matter of time before they came in. Sure enough, the Doctor felt the barrel of a gun being pointed at her head.

“Do not move Doctor. Or I will shoot.” The man hissed.

Ziani simply raised both her hands in surrender. “What do you want?”

“You and I are going to take a walk into the forest with him.” The man pointed at Barnes, “And if you cooperate, we won’t kill you.”

“Very well.”  Ziani glanced at the cameras that were surrounding the room. The usual green light was now off.

The large man then radio in his people, and reinforcements soon slipped into the room. They circled the cryochamber, guns at the ready. One of them stepped up the keyboard and skimmed their hands over it. 

“I would not touch anything if I were you.” They all looked at Ziani. “The chamber can only be moved by fingerprint scan. One wrong move, and it will alert everyone inside the palace.”

The man holding her at gunpoint scoffed, “Fine. Go and release him. However if you try anything-”

“You’ll shoot me. Yes, you’ve made that quite clear.” She sassed.

Ziani had moved carefully towards the screen, and placed her hand on it. There was a way to notify the King of an intruder with just a push of a button, but that wasn’t what she was here to do. So she typed in a code that she created for this occasion. There was a small hiss before the cryochamber was released from its hooks and was now able to be transported. Several men crowded the chamber, and carefully lifted it up and carried it out the room.

“Come with me Doctor.” The man directed her to the back door of the medical bay.

Ziani calmly followed him.

* * *

 

They had walked a good 3 miles away from the palace before they stopped at an opening in the forest. They sat Barnes down in the middle, the moon reflecting off the glass. Throughout the walk, Ziani had learned a few things, and confirmed things that she already knew: these men were supposedly part of a rebel group; who lead she did not know. But they had been causing trouble in the Djata Birnin. They had also heard rumors that the King T’Challa was harboring the Avengers, and thought it to be a ‘disgrace’ against the country of Wakanda. They wanted to make an example out of Barnes to the King. The rumors went around about an attack on the palace, but no one thought anyone was crazy enough to do it. 

“You see this good Doctor,” The man, who was called Najee by his men, pointed at Barnes. “ _ This  _ is what our so called King has brought into our country. A murderer. A weapon used to kill thousands. And yet he is given the best care Wakanda has to offer.”

“You know nothing-”

“We know  _ everything. _ ” Najee growled. “We know what happened. We saw.”

“Then you know that he is not at fault for any of his crimes.” Ziani spat. She knows the story of the Winter Soldier. It was one of many tragic stories she has heard over the years.

“I know that he and his comrades have painted a target on our home. And if the world knew he were here, they will kill us all!”

The Doctor had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, “Wakanda has been hidden from the world for generations. Many have tried and failed to bring harm to our land. You of all people should know that.”

 

“What I know is that we shall make this scum here an example. For what happens when the our leader has gone soft.” Najee stood very close into Ziani’s face. “And once we’re through with him. We shall paint these trees with you're blood.”

“I’m terrified.” She deadpanned.

Najee chuckled. “Stubborn woman. Watch closely boys! As we send a message to the great King of Wakanda.”

Najee stalked towards Barnes with smirk, and aimed his gun at the soldier’s head. Ziani counted at least 18 men. All armed, but nothing she couldn’t handle. All she had to do was wait. Because while they slowly walked through the forest, Barnes was slowly waking up to his surroundings. And with the training he had, Ziani knew he’d wait for the right moment to strike. Najee loaded the gun into the barrel, and that was all Bucky needed when his fist slammed through the glass. He held Najee in a chokehold, before banging his head against the glass. Everything went haywire after that. Ziani lunged for the closest guard she could reach for, and took him down instantly. Now armed, she picked off at least 6 men. Barnes was a little disoriented, but he was alert enough to fight. He broke free from the rest of the tank, and was able to take on 8 men with one arm. Ziani was able to shoot the last 4, leaving Najee left. The leader of the pack was currently unconscious, but not dead. Ziani still needed someone alive to take the blame when the King realized Barnes was gone.

“Mr. Barnes.” The doctor walked up to him slowly.

Bucky had whipped around, with a knife in hand. He remembered the woman standing in front of him. She was there when he and Steve arrived, and offered to help. She was in charge of his cryo sleep.

“Do you know who I am James?” she asked.

Bucky frowned trying to come up with her name. “Doctor.”

“Yes, my name is Doctor Ziani.”

“What happened?”

“We were abducted by a rebel group. We need to go and get you medical treatment.” Ziani reached for his hand, which had shards of glass still in it.

Bucky had a thousand different thoughts running through his head, but put them aside for later. Right now the goal was to escape. He didn’t know how many more were coming. He followed the doctor through the forest, stumbling through thick branches and tree stumps. They had ran for a good 10 minutes before they stopped in front of a vehicle carefully covered by leaves. The doctor threw them off and pulled a set of keys out of her coat pocket.

“Come quickly.” She beckoned Bucky inside the car.

Once Bucky was in, The woman wasted no time in starting the ignition and speeding off on a small dirt road. Bucky took the the time to look down at his hand. Nothing was broken, but he did have several deep cuts on his knuckles, as well as blood trailing down his arm.

“Don’t worry Mr. Barnes, we shall have that fixed in no time.” Ziani glanced at his hand.

Bucky looked out the window at the path. They were surrounded by trees, and the headlights barely cut through the darkness. He couldn’t get a good feel of his surroundings except for the birds, obnoxiously loud bugs and... water? Bucky immediately grabbed the wheel and swerved them to the right. The doctor was able to break before they crashed into anything.

“What are you-”

“Where are you taking me?” Bucky growled.

“Mr. Barnes,” Ziani froze as Bucky pointed his knife at her throat.

“Where. Are you. Taking me?” He asked again.

“B-back to the palace.”

“No you’re not. I remember a waterfall when we came here, and it was in the opposite direction of the palace.”

Ziani cursed internally. She underestimated how skilled Barnes was. This could mess up her entire plan and get her killed.

“Who are you?”

Ziani knew it was either lie and end getting her throat slashed, or tell the truth, and possibly live. “I am Doctor Ziani of Wakanda... but I am also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Bucky frowned. As far as he knew, S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA were dead. Steve had made sure of that 2 years ago. But he also knew that HYDRA didn’t die so easily, so why assume S.H.I.E.L.D did either?

“What does S.H.I.E.L.D want with me?”

“To give you an offer.” she stated. “I have a plane ready to take you to them.”

“And what if I decline?” Would she kill him?

“Then I will turn around and bring you back to the palace. However agreeing would be in your best interest.”

“And why is that?” Bucky pressed the knife closer.

“Because they might be able to find a solution for your problem.”

A solution? Bucky was told that there weren’t a lot of options for him to get the mess that HYDRA made out of his head. But if  S.H.I.E.L.D had the answer then... no. There was something else to it.  S.H.I.E.L.D may have been one of the good guys (at least the ones that weren’t HYDRA), but the one thing that all these shady organizations had in common, was that they always wanted something from you. Nothing was ever just free.

“What exactly is this offer?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky didn’t believe her. “I  _ don’t.  _ I was not given that information. All that was relayed to me was that I needed to bring you to  S.H.I.E.L.D for meeting, and if you declined, to bring you back here. That is all. If you want to find out, I have to take you there.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “And why should I trust you?”

“Mr. Barnes-”

“It’s Bucky.”

Ziani sighed. “ _ Bucky.  _ I may be a  S.H.I.E.L.D agent, but I am also a Wakandan citizen and a Doctor. My patients always come first, and if there is a way to heal you, I will make sure you are given that opportunity. And I may be disobeying the King’s orders now, but if he were to find out about the situation and demand me to bring you back, I will follow that order. I will not lead you astray Bucky. I promise.”

Bucky stared at the doctor for a long time. She didn’t seem to be lying, and even if she were, he could kill her in an instant. He didn't want to though. He had enough blood on his hands. Literally. He wasn’t sure about this new S.H.I.E.L.D though. What exactly was it that they wanted from him? Everything they could possible know has been released to the general public, and most of that information they probably stole from HYDRA. There wasn’t much he could do. Especially since Stark blew off his arm. But if there was a small chance that S.H.I.E.L.D could take the words out of his head, then he at least had to try. And if not, there he could always go back under.

“Alright. Take me to S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Ziani let out a small sigh of relief. “Yes sir.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short I know, but it gets better soon, I promise.

**QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS**

**1000 HOURS**

Frank knew he was being watched. Several years in the military ingrained in him that feeling on the back of his neck. However whoever was watching him were good. Made sure that he couldn’t spot them. It wouldn’t really matter though; he was ready for whatever or whoever came his way. Since he left New York, Frank had stockpiled weapons as he traveled. Sneaking them on trains, stealing them from kids who really shouldn’t be carrying them (he probably saved a lives with that incident), and decided to hang out in Massachusetts to figure out what to do next. Frank hadn’t really thought about what his life would be like after he finished his vengeance. The rage of losing his family had all but consumed him, and what happened after didn’t really come to light until now. He could leave the country if he wanted to, wouldn’t be that hard, but then what? What was the infamous Punisher to do after his raid in Hell's Kitchen? Frank had thought about that for a few days now, and was currently sitting in a warehouse near the bay. He was about to doze off after a long day of walking, when he heard movement nearby. Frank really wasn’t in the mood to kill anyone today (he had only killed at best 2 on the past month), but the last thing he needed was some asshat turning him in. 

“To be honest Mr. Castle, you’re not that hard to track down.” A voice echoed rang through the place.

Nick Fury almost had all of the pieces he needed for this team. He had Maria working on Wilson, Ziani trying to bring in Barnes, and Loki was already set to be brought in from Asgard. Frank was the only one that didn’t have someone assigned to him, mostly because he scared the ever loving shit out of everyone. Fury understood this, was quite impressed actually, which was why he was the one to meet with Castle himself.

“It’s the confrontation where things get’s a bit... difficult.” Nick stood a mere 6 feet away from the former marine.

Frank scoffed, “Difficult isn't the word I’d use.”

“Oh I’m sure about that.”

Frank pulled out a beer from the box he got from the store, as well as the 9 millimeter he picked off some gang member a few weeks back. “You’re that Nick Fury guy right? Big man for S.H.I.E.L.D right? Aren’t you suppose to be dead?”

Fury shrugged, “Depends on who ya ask. But yes, technically I am dead.”

“Hm. So what’s a dead man doing here then?”

“What’s a good man like you doing here?”

“I’m not a good man Nick. Haven’t been for a while.” Frank shook his head and took a swig at his beer.

“I know. Part of me however knows that there’s still some good left in you though.”

“Don’t know whether to laugh or be honored by that.”

“Take it how you want Frank. At the end of the day you’re still a man with a moral code. And a very blunt skill set.”

Frank took a good long look at Fury, and sat up straight, “You want something from me.”

“I want something from everybody to be honest. But from you I’d like to make an offer. One that might be beneficial for the both of us.”

“Lemme guess, money? Few marks off my record? Pocket change. There’s nothing you or your dead organization could give me that I could give a damn about.” Frank knew exactly what Fury wanted from him, and there was nothing that was already taken from him that he could ever want.

“Karen Page.” Nick stated.

Frank’s eye slightly twitched. Karen was... Frank wasn’t sure what exactly what Karen was to him. All he knew was that he really didn’t want people fucking with her, that was for sure.

“She’s gotten into a bit of trouble here recently. Great woman, but has the tendency to poke her nose into matters that don’t involve her.”

“She’s got someone watching her back.” 

“Oh I know all about Mr. Murdock. But the thing about heroes Frank, is that they sometimes end up stretched too thin. Letting the people they care about the most down. There won’t always be a Daredevil to come to her rescue.”

“And what makes you think I give a shit huh?” Frank waved his gun around. “She’s just a lawyer. Or rather datin one anyway.”

“I’ve been in this game for many years Mr. Castle, and if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s reading people.” Fury didn’t say it, but he was implying that he could see right through Frank. “Now you can come with me, I’ll take you on a nice plane ride to meet with some folks, and talk more, or you can just stay here and do whatever it is that you wanna do.”

“I say no, and you’ll just walk away just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“See as nice as that sounds, I don’t buy it.” 

Nick smirked. “I wouldn’t either. But here’s the thing: you’re valuable Frank. Whether you like it or not. No sense turning you in, and leaving you in jail cell. However it would make life easier if you came with us. My agents get a little tired of having to take out people who have a vendetta against you.”

Frank hadn’t thought about that. All this time he’d been running, he was sure that someone would try to come after him for what he did. It had been all too quiet, all too easy to leave New York without a witch hunt coming after him.

“I’ll give you time to think this over. I’ll be in the car if you need me.” Nick gave a small salute, before walking out.

_ This is too easy.  _ Frank thought.

Everything about it was vague. Fury gave him cryptic answers, and not much to go on. That alone was enough reason to say no. But the former marine had no place to be, and all the time in the world. Frank grabbed his box of beer and his duffle bag full of weapons. He walked outside, and sure enough, a black SUV sat in the gloomy daylight. Two agents that stood on the side of the car moved away for Frank, one of them opening a door. Frank slipped into the back seat, tossing his bags on the floor. The two agents in the front seemed slightly on edge at the gun sitting in Frank’s lap, but Fury just shook his head and laugh.

“Think you might be my favorite Frank.” Nick smiled.

Frank gave the man a small grin. If anything went south, he could easily kill them, and Fury knew it. This wasn’t what Frank expected out of the day, but he sure as hell wasn’t gonna complain.


	6. Chapter 6

**BROOKLYN, NEW YORK**

**1100 HOURS**

Let it be known, that Wade Wilson does have a heart. He maybe cruel when it comes to his jobs, but he does care. Okay, he cares about some things. 4 actually: getting paid, Chimichangas, his (ex?) girlfriend Vanessa, and his newly discovered daughter Ellie. It was weird really. Wade was walking by the elementary school near his house one day, and had stumbled upon a group of boys surrounding a little girl. Wade of course did what any responsible adult would do, and scared the kids shitless. The mercenary simply left it at that, but the girl wouldn't. A few meet ups, some talking, and shit ton of alcohol later, Wade had found out he had a daughter from a woman he met years back. Vanessa didn't had a problem with it; the exact opposite really. She was on board with it. She had wanted kids with Wade eventually, and now they had an opportunity to have one. But Wade’s insecurities got the better of him. Ellie’s mother (Preston, he recalls), made it very clear about how she felt about him. That the job he had wasn’t fit for a child, the lifestyle was dangerous, etc. And for once, Wade agreed. He knew very well the kind of shit stain he was, and that he didn’t deserve Ellie. Vanessa didn’t feel the same way and wanted to Wade to fight for his daughter. That eventually lead to the couple fighting each other, which lead to Wade sitting at Sister Margret’s at noon; slowly killing himself for the 3rd time in the past 2 hours.

“While I appreciate the amount of money I’m gonna rake in from your brooding, as somewhat of a decent friend, you gotta stop man.” Wade’s friend, Weasel, cleared the counter.

“Fuck you, I don’t need a therapist!” Wade slurred.

“Look I’m just saying that instead of being in here, you should be out there getting paid, so you can flaunt that money in Ms. Pressy pants face.”

“And then what?! In cased you haven’t noticed, the world doesn’t look to highly to people who make a living by killing other people. That bitch’ll just throw a court order at me and I can’t do much while in jail!”

“Good point.” The bartender mumbled. “Has Vanessa called?”

“No. But to be fair I did send her dick pic 20 minutes ago.”

“Jesus Wade.”

“You don’t think she’ll like it?”

“Wade I’m pretty sure she’d put her foot up you're ass right now.”

Wade giggled, “Nah, she knows I’d like that. Woops! World’s getting woozy again!”

The mercenary had stumbled over in the bar stool and fell to the floor. Everything around him was a big blur of colors and shapes. Wade went in and out of consciousness, and could’ve sworn he heard Weasel talking to someone. Then he felt a sharp pain on his thigh, that made his whole body shake like he had been doused with ice cold water.

“AGH! MOTHERFUCKER!” Wade yelled.

“I see you're awake.” he heard a sharp female voice quip. “Figured I’d sober you up before we started talking.”

Wade looked up to see a woman with brown hair tucked into a neat bun, and a glare that could rival Vanessa’s. He tried to say something along the lines of having a stick up her ass, but the only thing he could get out was a weak gurgle.

Maria Hill rolled her eyes at the man before holstering her gun. Of all the people she could’ve worked with,  _ this  _ was the one she was responsible for. Although it could’ve been worse. She could’ve been on Loki detail, and that was a meeting she was not ready for. For that, she’d take a Deadpool any day. Hill took a good look at the man as he started to get on his feet. He wasn’t n his usual red ensemble, but in a navy blue hoodie, jeans, and black gloves.

“Okay, first... THE FUCK?!” Wade heaved. “Second, who the hell are you?!”

“Maria Hill. I work with an organization that’s very interested in your abilities.”

“Oh, that’s- that’s nice. That’s so lovely. You work for an organization that’s very interested in- GO FUCK YOURSELF SARAH PALIN!” Wade kicked a stool over.

Maria didn’t budge, “You didn’t let me finish.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that the last creepy motherfucker in business attire came to me, he ended screwing me over and fucking up my entire body! So I apologize if I’m less than thrilled.”

“So I’ve heard. However, this time the people that wish to speak to you, have a more compelling reputation.”

“Oh yeah? And who’s that?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Wait, isn’t that that government thing that was taken over by HYDRA?” Weasel had been quiet throughout the entire confrontation until now.

“It was, but we’ve rebuild. In secret that is. This time making sure that we hire the best people for the job.”

“And you’re here because...”

“Because you’re one of the best for a particular job.”

“I’m flattered Maria. Really I am. You gonna buy me dinner next, or is this gonna be a one night stand?”

“ _ This  _ is going to be an offer.” Maria gestured toward the front door. “There’s a car waiting for you outside to take you to S.H.I.E.L.D. Once there, you’ll get more information on what services we would require from you.”

“Uh huh. And what makes you think I’m gonna say yes?”

Hill pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed it to Wade. The merc was staring at a picture of Ellie’s mom, who had rankings next to her photo.

“Emily Preston: S.H.I.E.L.D agent assigned to protect Eleanor Camacho, after an incident involving illegal experimentation. Her orders are to make sure that Eleanor is safe from any and all threats. One of them being you.”

Wade was practically shaking with anger, and wanted to shove the phone down Maria’s throat. S.H.I.E.L.D had taken his daughter without him knowing, and now waltzed into his life wanting him to work for them?! 

“Fortunately, we can remove you from that list of potential threats, and give you rights to Ms. Camacho. The only thing we ask from you is to come chat with us.”

“And what if I turn down this wonderful offer of yours? Would you try and make sure Ellie doesn’t see me again? Cause let me tell ya sweetcheeks, that’s not gonna end well for anyone.” Wade was stood nose to nose with Maria; growling at her.

“You’ll still be able to see her whether you agree or not. But word of advice: Good impressions are everything. Eleanor might be a bit more pleased if she knew her biological father, and her mother were working together to do good in the world.” Maria took a glance at her watch. “You’ve got 10 minutes to decide.”

With that, agent Hill turned on her heels and stalked out of the bar. Wade’s anger had simmered down a little, but there was still a taste of bitterness left in his mouth. There was no way in hell he was going to put himself back into a situation that get’s him tested on, but he at least wanted a chance with Ellie.

“You're not thinking of going are you?” Weasel asked cautiously.

Wade didn’t respond to him. He walked over to one of the tables that had his duffle bag of weapons inside, before waltzing out of the bar. The merc with the mouth would take this chance to see his daughter, but if there was something that even  _ hinted  _ experimentation, he’d blow that place to sky high.


End file.
